Xiaomi Mi Max 2 unveiled, aims to be a battery king

Today is a big day for Mi fans - the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 was launched in China. Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun presented the device that comes with the power-efficient Snapdragon 625 chipset, a massive 5300 mAh battery and improved design over the first iteration.

The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has a 6.44” display with thin bezels - not Mi Mix slim, but this is a mid-ranger after all. The chipset might count as a downgrade from the Snapdragon 650/652 that powered the first Mi Max in terms of processing power, but it's much more power-efficient. The RAM is now 4 GB with two options for internal storage - 64 GB or 128 GB.

The Mi Max 2 comes with the 12 MP primary camera from the Mi 6 - you don't get the secondary telecam though. It has Sony’s IMX386 sensor with 1.25µm pixels.

Xiaomi made sure the Mi Max 2 is a beast when it comes to battery life. The 5,300 mAh pack comes with QuickCharge 3.0, and the company says that one-hour charging fills 2/3 of the capacity.

The fingerprint scanner is positioned on the back, while on the front could be found a sensor home button. There are two stereo speakers and a USB Type-C port.

Pricing starts from CNY1,699/$247 for the 4 GB + 64 GB version, while the Mi Max 2 with 128 GB storage will cost CNY1,999 or approximately $291.

Max 1 was already a battery king. 14 hours of heavy duty use is amazing. What I was hoping for is a better camera (hopefully it is) and a fraction smaller size. the Max 2 almost feels like a downgrade with its lower performance and (tiny) increase in...